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As i am known locally as a bit of a collector of...well, things in general i guess, i from time to time is presented with "gifts" from friends and acquaintances.
Yesterday i was visiting a friend face to face for the first time since last spring, since he finally has gotten his full treatment of Wuhan bug repellant.
It was a nice reunion, and him being in the middle of a move, having sold his property, of course had made him track down a little treasure for me as well...that had been stashed away on a nail in the shed for the last 50 years.
Me being a certified electrician (an pretty obsolete bunch of papers these days, as i have been in the dieselengineering trade the last 2-3 decades), made him think that i couldn´t live without his old pole climbing shoes, for their amazing sentimental value to someone with my history.
Pretty pissed at myself that i didn´t shoot a before pic, as they really made the both of us laugh out loud, when we got them of that nail, and out into the daylight.
Completely rusty, with some thin clothes line kind of rope attached, to sort of tie them onto your boots, as the original leather belts appearently had been long gone well before they were stored.
Well, long story short, i took them home with me, if for nothing else than to help clean the property for him, fully expecting that they´d end up in the trash eventually, looking as sad as they did.
Decided to give them a quick cleaning with a steel wirebrush on the anglegrinder, just to see if they could be saved, and much to my surprice most of the material still was present.
Then went on and cut a couple of 3/4" belts of a cowhide, and stiched those on there.
...and waddya know, i now am the proud owner of yet another fully functional tool here, that i´ll most likely never find a need for.
Now all that remains for these, is that i go and bang a nail in my own shed attic
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What an interesting story Jan & a neat pair of pole climbing cleats, they look new now. Well done !
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Nice leather work, they look original
I could’ve used these the other day
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Great thread! I just happened to be visiting our son, who lives in a much more affluent area than myself. It seems that people with more money throw out better things. I was pleasantly surprised to find this like-new appliance dolly sitting next to the neighbor's garbage cans for the trash men to pick up. It seems that he used it once and could not figure out how the d-ring strap wrapped, and could not get it to hold securely, so he threw it out.
Having had many motorcycle helmets and having been in the appliance business for the past forty years, I couldn't pass it up. It is quite new and in better in condition than any of my other appliance dollies, plus I now have an extra one for people to borrow.
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Looking at the faded sticker, appears it may even be US made?
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You don't need an appliance dolly often, but when you do, they're as good as gold
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Hello Jan,
nice that you saved the climbing shoes. Looks good. There will also be a nail somewhere on which the parts can be hung in a representative way.
As a child, I was always fascinated by the workers who repaired electricity and telephone lines as they strapped on these crampons and then climbed the wooden masts to carry out repairs at a lofty height. These things are a piece of work history.
Have a nice weekend
Jürgen -
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Nice leather work, they look original
Fortunately we have quite a bit of leather here, as leatherworking is the management´s main hobby.
I could’ve used these the other day
...and yes, being a relatively slim tree like that, i do figure they could´a been handy there
These do have some restriction, since they´re made for a relatively specific polesize, whereas woodmen´s versions, even if superfiscially alike, has an adjustment option to fit different diameters. -
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@crazydoug
Pretty neat find that appliance dolly, congrats!
Have a couple here as well, and being by myself most of the time when working around the property, i can´t count how many times they have saved me, from having to call in a favour of assistance. -
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@Dampfopa
Back when i was an apprentice, it was usually an apprentice´s task climbing those poles, and at some point my boss got the contract, to decommision quite a few kilometers of airborne installation.
After a couple of weeks with these buggers on your feet for 8 hours every day, one started to walk so widespread with the feet, that a local gent at the inn commented, by asking if i´d ridden into town on a wheelbarrow 
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...and yes, being a relatively slim tree like that, i do figure they could´a been handy there
These do have some restriction, since they´re made for a relatively specific polesize, whereas woodmen´s versions, even if superfiscially alike, has an adjustment option to fit different diameters.
I do have a set that was bought on a lineman relatives auction and Lenn (Pitchy) gave me some longer spikes that were new in the box. I climbed a tree for fun with them once, but have never actually used them for work. Guess where my pair is... hanging on a nail in the basement
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They came up wonderfully Jan.
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Neat pole climbing shoes.
All you need now is a pair for concrete poles. 
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LOL!
Dave, about the only thing i don´t need, is more non-necessary "special" tools here.
Just today stumbled on a couple of 18 inch Bahco adjustable wrenches, stashed behind a huge 2 wheeled 1960´s Sun battery charger.
Never used any of it, so whatever i´ve hauled any of them and the battery charger home for, illudes me completely
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